Syria’s Fuel Hike Ignites Nationwide Protests Amid Supply Crisis

Key points

• The Syrian government increased diesel prices by approximately 40% and petrol by 28-30% on Sunday, citing higher global procurement costs, transport fees, and insurance premiums.
• Protests erupted in multiple regions, including Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Khan Sheikhoun, and Maarat al-Numan, with demonstrators burning tires and blocking major highways, including the route to Turkey.
• Syria currently produces about 102,000 barrels of oil per day against domestic demand of roughly 325,000 barrels, forcing the country to import approximately two-thirds of its energy needs.
• The Baniyas refinery, Syria’s largest, is undergoing a three-month overhaul to increase capacity from 80,000 to 130,000 barrels per day, temporarily tightening supply.
• The Syrian People’s Assembly scheduled a listening session with Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir on Thursday to address the reasons behind the price hike.

Background

President Ahmed al-Sharaa took power in late 2024, inheriting an economy devastated by 14 years of war, sanctions, and corruption. While the government has begun reviving the oil industry, including retaking fields in Deir ez-Zor and Hasakah, the country remains heavily dependent on imports. A US-backed pipeline project from Basra to Baniyas, led by Chevron, is intended to eventually bypass the Strait of Hormuz, but interim arrangements currently rely on Iraqi crude trucking and Russian imports, which have been constrained by Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries and Moscow’s export restrictions.

How outlets are covering it

The Financial Times emphasizes the political risk for President al-Sharaa, noting that most Syrians live below the poverty line and that the protests represent the most acute signal of economic unrest since his rise to power. Al Jazeera focuses on the immediate logistical impact, highlighting that taxi drivers in Homs immediately raised fares, causing public frustration, and notes the government’s claim that the hike is temporary. OilPrice.com provides a deeper supply-chain analysis, attributing the crisis to a combination of the Baniyas refinery closure and reduced Russian crude imports due to Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries. While all sources agree on the magnitude of the price hike, they differ in emphasis: the FT frames it as a political crisis, Al Jazeera as a consumer shock, and OilPrice.com as a structural supply deficit.

Why it matters

The unrest highlights the fragility of Syria’s post-war recovery. With 90% of the population living below the poverty line, any spike in energy costs triggers immediate social instability. The reliance on imports and the temporary nature of the Baniyas overhaul mean that Syria remains vulnerable to global oil price fluctuations and geopolitical disruptions in the Red Sea and Gulf, which have pushed crude prices above $108 a barrel. The government’s ability to manage this crisis without further unrest will be a key indicator of its stability in the coming months.

What to watch

The Syrian People’s Assembly is set to hold a listening session with Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir on Thursday to discuss the price hike. The government has stated it will continue to review prices as global market conditions change and will work to expand refining and storage capacity in the long term. The completion of the Baniyas refinery overhaul is expected to ease some supply pressures, but the country will remain dependent on imports until the new Basra-Baniyas pipeline is operational.